European telecom regulators support ACM’s draft market analysis
BEREC, the collaboration between European telecom regulators, does not agree with the doubts of the European Commission about the market analysis decision on unbundled local access of the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM). In the draft decision, ACM imposes on Dutch telecom company KPN the obligation to continue to grant competitors access to its network, thereby ensuring that increased competition continues to exist in the markets for internet access, fixed telephony, and business network services.
In late-April, the European Commission launched a so-called Phase II investigation, and it expressed serious doubts about ACM’s analysis, particularly about the way ACM analyzes the competitive power of cable. BEREC finds the Commission’s doubts unjustified, and recommends the Commission should withdraw its doubts. The Commission is required to take utmost account of BEREC’s opinion in its considerations. In the meantime, ACM and the Commission continue to hold discussions on the next steps.